While growing up in Summerside, PEI, Gerard Gallant was always known as one of the most prolific goal scorers in the city's minor hockey system. While playing for the Summerside Crystals of the Junior B league at the age of 16 he netted 60 goals and 115 points in just 45 games. His 90 minutes in penalties also showed he was not going to be bullied out of his game.

In 1980-81 he joined Sherbrooke of the QMJHL and responded with a 48-goal, 101-point season. The next year Gallant was an integral force in leading Sherbrooke into the Memorial Cup, eventually won by the OMJHL's Kitchener Rangers. Gallant was sent to St. Jean for the start of the 1982-83 season, but before it was over he was playing with Verdun and again found himself in the thick of a Memorial Cup championship. However, once again his club came up short on the national stage. During the regular season he had scored 54 goals and 128 points between the two clubs.

Gallant turned pro in 1983-84 with the Adirondack Red Wings. He had been selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft in the sixth round, 107th overall. While playing in Adirondack Gallant continued to show a tenacity that won over the Detroit brass. His 195 minutes in penalties was proof he was up for the rough and tumble NHL and he earned a full-time roster spot with Detroit in 1984-85. Perhaps the low point in his career came that same year when he suffered a broken jaw in a fight against Minnesota's Dirk Graham.

He scored over 70 points four times while a member of the Red Wings and his most productive offensive season came in 1988-89 when he had 39 goals and 93 points to go along with 230 penalty minutes. Detroit's coach at the time, Jacques Demers, said he thought Gallant's penchant for fighting was the only thing holding him back from a 50-goal season

After a successful nine years in Detroit, he inked a free-agent contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1993. He played with the club for parts of two seasons until suffering a career-ending back in jury during a practice in November 1995 as a member of the IHL's Detroit Vipers. Gallant logged 615 games in the NHL, scoring 211 goals and 480 points while accumulating 1,674 minutes in penalties.

Gallant returned to the ranks of professional hockey in the fall of 1999, becoming an assistant coach with the AHL's Louisville Panthers before taking on the same duties with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2001-02. After parts of three seasons as an assistant in Columbus, Gallant became the head coach midway through the 2003-04 season.

F

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1979-80

Summerside Crystals

MJrHL

45

60

55

115

90

1980-81

Sherbrooke Castors

QMJHL

68

41

60

101

220

14

6

13

19

46

1981-82

Sherbrooke Castors

QMJHL

58

34

58

92

252

22

14

24

38

82

1981-82

Sherbrooke Castors

M-Cup

5

5

3

8

28

1982-83

St-Jean Castors

QMJHL

33

28

25

53

129

1982-83

Verdun Juniors

QMJHL

29

26

49

75

105

15

14

19

33

86

1982-83

Verdun Juniors

M-Cup

4

3

1

4

23

1983-84

Adirondack Red Wings

AHL

77

31

33

64

195

7

1

3

4

34

1984-85

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

32

6

12

18

66

+9

3

0

0

0

11

1984-85

Adirondack Red Wings

AHL

46

18

29

47

131

1985-86

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

52

20

19

39

106

-10

1986-87

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

80

38

34

72

216

-5

16

8

6

14

43

1987-88

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

73

34

39

73

242

+24

16

6

9

15

55

1988-89

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

76

39

54

93

230

+7

6

1

2

3

40

1988-89

Canada

WEC-A

8

2

3

5

10

1989-90

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

69

36

44

80

254

-6

1990-91

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

45

10

16

26

111

+6

1991-92

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

69

14

22

36

187

+16

11

2

2

4

25

1992-93

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

67

10

20

30

188

+20

6

1

2

3

4

1993-94

Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL

51

4

9

13

74

-6

1994-95

Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL

1

0

0

0

0

0

1994-95

Atlanta Knights

IHL

16

3

3

6

31

1995-96

Detroit Vipers

IHL

3

2

1

3

6

NHL Totals

615

211

269

480

1674

58

18

21

39

178

NHL Second All-Star Team (1989)

Signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay, July 21, 1993. Signed as a free agent by Detroit Vipers (IHL), October 23, 1995. Suffered career-ending back injury in practice, November 4, 1995. Named Assistant Coach of Columbus, July 18, 2000.